Nascar Legend’s Final Lap
Bill France Jr. died this week at the age of 74. Smug Wall Street-ers love to make fun of the sport, but the France’s created a monster that made the family billionaires. Bill Jr. was no dilettante, and pulled stumps out of swamps preparing tracks for races, among other things, early in his working life.
I went to the IPO roadshow for Speedway Motorsports-the “co-opetition” between the two large track owners is an interesting case study. The France’s held the cards, however, and Humpy Wheeler never did get want he wanted out of those boys-ie. signifcantly more race dates.
Too, Humpy is a character-and a rich one at that. The old Wheat, First must have been part of the syndicate. The whole deal was full of Southerners and I found it quite amusing. Of course, the narrow-minded folks back in the office derided the deal. The stock really did not light it up post IPO. If I am not mistaken the France’s company traded on the pink sheets and that was a stock to buy in the early 90’s-huge home run there.
God bless Bill France Jr.-a great American businessman.
“Coming in, I had two big pairs of shoes to fill [Bill France and Bill Jr.]. I was more familiar with Bill Jr.’s way of doing business but that didn’t make it any easier.
“He blazed so many trails for our sport. He was determined to follow the vision of his father while also expanding on that vision. Over nearly four decades, he did a masterful job.”
Dale Earnhardt Jr.
NASCAR.com
His father may have been the architect of NASCAR, but throughout his life, Bill France Jr. proved to be the ultimate general manager.
His plaque at the International Motorsports Hall of Fame may put it best: “Other than the founding of NASCAR itself, Bill Jr.’s appointment to leadership is probably the most significant event in the history of the sanctioning body.”
France Jr.’s ability to transform his father’s original vision into something greater than the sum of its parts was his greatest accomplishment. Under his three decades of leadership, NASCAR evolved from a regional sport to one with a world-wide fan base. He was a trailblazer in the field of corporate sponsorships and the guiding force behind a television contract worth billions of dollars.
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